Heart of the West [Annotated]

49

like Tybalt.. arithmetic—Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Sc. i. Mortally wounded by Tybalt, Mercutio says,

"No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. – A plague o' both your houses! – Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic!"

50

Livy (History of Rome, Book II) tells the story of Horatius Cocles. Shortly after the Romans threw out Tarquin and the Etruscans (about 509 B.C.), Lars Porsenna, an Etruscan King, attacked the city. His army had to cross a narrow wooden bridge over the Tiber. Horatius and two companions blocked the way of the Etruscan army while their comrades dismantled the bridge behind them. Horatius' companions retreated to safety just before the bridge collapsed. When Horatius was certain the Etruscans could not cross the river, he prayed to the god of the Tiber, then jumped from the bridge into the river in full armor and swam to safety. For a more complete account, read the original in Project Gutenberg's library: .

51

Spurius Lartius was one of Horatius' two companions defending the Sublician Bridge. O. Henry exaggerates the time devoted to study of the classics in the curriculum for Ranger training.

52

Rio Bravo– Rio Grande. In Mexico the Rio Grande is often called the Rio Bravo or the Rio Bravo del Norte.

53

jacal– (Spanish) a small house or shack built by driving vertical stakes into the ground and filling in walls between the stakes with adobe

54

Diabla bonita– (Spanish) Pretty devil

55

cañoncito– (Spanish) little canyon

56

viva la reina!– (Spanish) long live the queen!

57

kalsomining– applying a whitewash to ceiling or walls

58

slings.. fortune—Hamlet, Act III, Sc. i. Hamlet's soliloquy:

"To be, or not to be, – that is the question: —
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?"

59

Military Plaza– The Plaza de Armas was established about 1722 as the drill grounds for the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. After the Civil War it was used as an open market. Today it is the site of governmental buildings.

60

norther– a Texas "blue norther" is a cold front. Its arrival is heralded by a blue-black sky to the north, followed by rain and thunderstorms. The temperature can fall 20-40 degrees in a few hours.

61

potrero– (Spanish) pasture, grassland

62

El Amo!– (Spanish) The boss!

63

Cléo de Mérode (1873-1966) was a beautiful Parisian ballerina whose hair style caused a sensation when she danced in a production at age 13.

64

puerta– (Spanish) gate

65

This annotator can find no record of a Lone Wolf Crossing on the Frio, but there are clues that O. Henry had an actual place in mind for the setting of this story. We are told four paragraphs below that this point on the Frio is about 20 miles from the Nueces River. Later we are told that the Arroyo Hondo is near the Lone Wolf Crossing. Hondo Creek enters the Frio in Frio County 5 miles from Pearsall (about 75 miles southwest of San Antonio). At that location the Frio and the Nueces are about 20 miles apart.

66

mescal– a drug-containing liquor made by distilling fermented agave cactus

67

quien sabe– (Spanish) who knows?

68

gannet– a large sea bird

69

gitanas– (Spanish) gypsies

70

plait.. stake-rope– O. Henry probably learned this skill or at least saw it practiced during the two years he spent on South Texas ranches.

71

chivo– (Spanish) goat